• US High Performance Computing Act creates the National Research and Education Network (NREN), to link research and educational institutions, government, and industry in every State. Requires the Department of Defense (DoD), through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to support research and development of advanced fiber optics technology, switches, and protocols. Requires the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide computing and networking infrastructure support for all science and engineering disciplines and support basic research and human resource development in high-performance computing and advanced high-speed computer networking.

• National Information Infrastructure (NII) initiative, also called The Information Superhighway, to define a broadband convergence of telecommunications, information technology, and the entertainment industry, becomes law.

• InterNIC formed by the NSF to provide domain name registration, directory database and information services.

• Net Neutrality continues to be a major politial issue. Individuals who support net neutrality include Tim Berners-Lee, Vinton Cerf, Lawrence Lessig, Robert W. McChesney, Steve Wozniak, Susan P. Crawford, Ben Scott, David Reed, and U.S. President Barack Obama. Companies advocating net neutrality include Yahoo!, Vonage, eBay, Amazon, Microsoft. Opposition includes the Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Goldwater Institute, Americans for Tax Reform, and the Ayn Rand Institute. Opponents of net neutrality also includes hardware companies and members of the cable and telecom industries, including major providers such as Comcast and AT&T.